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Taking On the ‘Houston, We Have a Problem’ Problem

TAKING ON THE ‘HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM’ PROBLEM What can a little minor public shaming do in the face of a groundswell of clichéd space-themed Houston references from reporters and observers around the world (and the occasional newscaster from within)? Just in time to chronicle and reflect a seeming barrage of “Gee, no one’s ever repeated this before” references to Houston — as it emerged in the national spotlight in advance of yesterday’s Super Bowl — a Twitter account going by the handle Ugh Houston, created last month, set about to highlight, ridicule, and otherwise express disappointment toward any and all variations on the theme of “Houston, we have a problem.” (The betting circuits even had 5-to-2 odds on whether the tagline, an alteration of the original quotation popularized by the 1995 movie about the Apollo 13 mission, would make an appearance in the Super Bowl broadcast, though ultimately, it appears, it didn’t. and it did.) Other phrases targeted by the account include references to landing eagles and launching anything without an actual rocket engine. Here’s the big question, then, waged in harrumph-y asides, worldwide: Should or shouldn’t Houston embrace its popular association with extreme difficulty?Image: Ugh Houston Twitter account

One reason is that LA and New York marketers just don’t know enough about Houston or don’t bother to learn more. They just hear Houston and queue up the rocket launch. This might have been magnified by the rumor that PR firms in Houston were overlooked to market the Super Bowl. But maybe now that the elites have seen Houston thanks to the Super Bowl that will change. It is like when you tell your great-aunt you like Lord of the Rings when you are 12 and so she buys you LOTR T-Shirts for the next 20 years.

At least they referred to our city as “Houston” and not “H-town”. Whenever I hear the term “H-town” I want to vomit. If you refer to Houston as “H-town” you are definitely from either some out-of-town sports talk show or marketing firm. Only desperate posers trying to sound “cool”/”hip”/”down with it”/ or “dope” (take your generational pick) refer to our city as “H-town”. I can live with “the Bayou City” or “Space City” but if Houston does have a problem it is the idiots who call us “H-town”. A “Houston Proud” Houstonian.

P.S. – So glad the Stupid Bowl is over and all the out-of-town idiots will go away and leave us alone. We don’t care what they think about us.